GOP-backed groups fundraising off of Trump mug shot merchandise
Former President Trump and his allies are readily fundraising off of the former president’s historic booking photo, taking advantage of the unprecedented image to bank capital for their causes.
Trump surrendered to Fulton County jail on Thursday for charges involving racketeering and his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. He — along with his 18 co-defendants in the case — had their photos taken during booking.
While the former president has been indicted in four separate cases since April, this is the first time a mug shot was taken.
Soon after, Trump-affiliated groups — including his own presidential campaign — slapped the photo on nearly every type of merchandise, from t-shirts to beverage koozies to bumper stickers and posters. Campaign merchandise features the phrase “NEVER SURRENDER!” taken from the former presidents’ statements Thursday evening.
Donald Trump Jr. began selling t-shirts emblazoned with “FREE TRUMP” and the photograph, with proceeds going toward a “Legal Defense Fund” that the campaign set up for the former president, he said.
The photo quickly became key in fundraising messages across the political spectrum, with the Trump campaign changing its website to highlight the image.
“Today, at the notoriously violent jail in Fulton County, Georgia, I was ARRESTED despite having committed NO CRIME,” Trump said in a personal note on his campaign website, featuring the mug shot.
“Today, I walked into the lion’s den with one simple message on behalf of our entire movement: I WILL NEVER SURRENDER OUR MISSION TO SAVE AMERICA,” he said, adding, “If you can, please make a contribution to evict Crooked Joe Biden from the White House and SAVE AMERICA during this dark chapter in our nation’s history.”
Allies including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and others have photoshopped themselves into similar Fulton County mugshots in a show of solidarity with the former president.
Anti-Trump organizations, like the conservative Lincoln Project, have also started to sell merchandise, including a shot glass with Trump’s glaring mugshot featured.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame, a non-political organization, even announced a pre-sale for a Trump mugshot bobblehead.